Things To Do With "junk" Fossils

[Bev]

We all of "junk" fossils. Perhaps we are hunting that perfect trilobite, and when we find it, all of those pygidiums and cephalons just don't mean what they did before. Or the excitement of finding any hormatoma goes flat after you have the perfect specimen in your collection, but you pick them up anyway. Or the fossil gets knicked while you are prepping it.

What to do with all of these fossils?

Well, I just finished a post on "Uses for junk fossils" with lots of pictures that you might enjoy. I also found a Nature Center that wants them for their sand play area in a natural playground that they are developing - I have a feature on that over on BluffCountryWoman.com - I've also donated a number of large fossils for their caves and tunnel (too big for children to move). The Houston Nature Center also hosts the International Owl Festival, in case anyone is interested in Owls.

http://www.bluffcountryfossils.com/blog/uses-for-junk-fossils/

Bev :-D

[Uncle Siphuncle]

I donate tons of B and C grade material each year to clubs, schools, and Goodwill, taking a charitable donation writeoff for each come tax time.

[rejd]

That's great stuff bev. Thanks for sharing it.

[kolleamm]

I pretty much donate almost everything that's not a top notch specimen in my collection. Other people will have better use for them.

[Bev]

Wonderful to hear that so many are donating their fossils rather than just throwing them out on the driveway. :-D

[Wrangellian]

I like the bookends.. You just need to slice two flat surfaces at right angles on each one and they'll be perfect.

[Bev]

I like the bookends.. You just need to slice two flat surfaces at right angles on each one and they'll be perfect.

Thanks. Well, that is what I wanted, but the gal doing the slicing wants no part of my limestone fossils anymore as they gunk up her oil and are so fragile that she breaks them.

[Caleb]

For cutting the bottom of matrix to make a natural stand I have used a circular saw with a wet/dry diamond blade. It's great for the thinner slabs and scoring thicker slabs in order to carefully break them down. A proper table-top rock saw is best, but they can be very expensive. Obviously eye, ear, and dust protection is a must.

[Wrangellian]

Thanks. Well, that is what I wanted, but the gal doing the slicing wants no part of my limestone fossils anymore as they gunk up her oil and are so fragile that she breaks them.

You had someone do this with a rock saw with oil? Yeah, I would have done what Caleb suggests! Actually I never thought the circular saw (skilsaw?) idea would work, but apparently it does. I'd like to get one of the tabletop type myself.

[Ridgehiker]

Great topic

I like to use scraps, junk, surplus, etc. outside in the garden. For example this photo is of a few dozen Dino caudal vertebrae winding like a tail. Looks neat come spring before plants start growing. These specimens are 'ok' quality but lack neural canals.

As for donating...that's a great you guys do it. I sometimes have a fossil display table. A part of it is an activity...I have a large jar filled with a couple hundred champsosaur vertebrae....kids try to guess the exact number in the jar...it's a variation of 'how many jelly beans'. If their guess is reasonable then they get a fossil of their choice from my give away box...anything from a Dino vertebra to a shark tooth, Branchiopod, etc.

Anyways, odd at times what I used to bring home and then wonder afterwards...hmmmm? Too good to leave at the site but not good enough to display. Into a box and forgotten. Best to open those boxes and do something with them.

[Ridgehiker]

Here's another idea...if I have common fossils or just a slice of a Dino tooth, half ammonite, etc. I incorporate them into hyper tufa ( light cement- like mix) planters in the garden.

[masonboro37]

Thanks for sharing Bev. I make goodie bags for the schools in my area and donate them. The kids in my neighborhood call me the "fossil lady down the street". I made some awesome stepping stones with extra stuff which was broken.

[Bev]

Here's another idea...if I have common fossils or just a slice of a Dino tooth, half ammonite, etc. I incorporate them into hyper tufa ( light cement- like mix) planters in the garden.

Northstar, you are incredibly creative! And I LOVE your JUNK fossils. Wow, I would love to find a dino vert in any condition!

[Wrangellian]

Northstar, you are incredibly creative! And I LOVE your JUNK fossils. Wow, I would love to find a dino vert in any condition!

I was just thinking that - some of these fossils are things I don't have in my collection in any condition, and here they are being used in planters and gardens! Ack!

(Actually I think I have one dino vert that I didn't find myself, but all those ammonites etc....)

[Ridgehiker]

I'm new here so don't want to post too much but here's another tail...part of hadrosaur and centrasaurs vertebra winding through my badlands cactus garden. Distal end of another bone.

Another idea a friend did was make drawer handles out of vertebrae...quite creative .

[Ridgehiker]

Wrangellian, Re ammonites. I like to use those randomly in the garden. 3 in this section...for scale the largest is 14cm. None uncommon species...collected these in Jurassic deposits in France.

Edited August 1, 2013 by Ridgehiker

[Wrangellian]

Wrangellian, Re ammonites. I like to use those randomly in the garden. 3 in this section...for scale the largest is 14cm. None uncommon species...collected these in Jurassic deposits in France.

Maybe common but I still dont have any of those particular types in my collection.

Are those verts assembled from disparate individuals or were they found together like that? I would think you'd keep them in the house if they were found together so I'm assuming the opposite!

[Ridgehiker]

Wrangellian, We rarely find vertebrae together. 95% of the time singles just loose sitting in the open or stuck in the bentonite clay. Articulated dino bones not 'really rare' but uncommon to randomly come across. Most articulated bones are excavated...only surface collecting is allowed in Alberta. Also, there are so many vertebra positions that difficult at times to distinguish ceratopsian from hadrosaur (at least for me)...tyrannosaurid vertebrae are quite distinct. Because collection is surface, lots of vertebrae are eroded and not worth picking up unless unique in some way. Here's a photo of 'some' in the house (lower shelf).

[Katfish61]

Some very good ideas there.... My husband is an eighth grade teacher and he lets the students pick from the pile that keeps adding up. Some get really excited and others, not so much. As long as ONE shows interest......... ......It's all worth it!!

[Wrangellian]

Wrangellian, We rarely find vertebrae together. 95% of the time singles just loose sitting in the open or stuck in the bentonite clay. Articulated dino bones not 'really rare' but uncommon to randomly come across. Most articulated bones are excavated...only surface collecting is allowed in Alberta. Also, there are so many vertebra positions that difficult at times to distinguish ceratopsian from hadrosaur (at least for me)...tyrannosaurid vertebrae are quite distinct. Because collection is surface, lots of vertebrae are eroded and not worth picking up unless unique in some way. Here's a photo of 'some' in the house (lower shelf).

You do find a lot of them! Thanks for the pic.

[Bev]

Wrangellian, We rarely find vertebrae together. 95% of the time singles just loose sitting in the open or stuck in the bentonite clay. Articulated dino bones not 'really rare' but uncommon to randomly come across. Most articulated bones are excavated...only surface collecting is allowed in Alberta. Also, there are so many vertebra positions that difficult at times to distinguish ceratopsian from hadrosaur (at least for me)...tyrannosaurid vertebrae are quite distinct. Because collection is surface, lots of vertebrae are eroded and not worth picking up unless unique in some way. Here's a photo of 'some' in the house (lower shelf).

Okay NorthStar, time to cough up and start selling the singles in any condition! In My Humble Opinion! :-D

Just imagine any 6 year old boy holding ANY piece of a dinosaur! I am just sooo

And you are right, what is common in one area is a sought after item in another area. I just had a man request a Maclurites, which is common in our area as are recepticulitids. But not so common in other areas.

Perhaps the less is to cherish what you have... But your creativity in use IS cherishing them!

Bev

[pinkpantherbeekeeper]

Northstar, you are incredibly creative! And I LOVE your JUNK fossils. Wow, I would love to find a dino vert in any condition!

I was just thinking that - some of these fossils are things I don't have in my collection in any condition, and here they are being used in planters and gardens! Ack!

(Actually I think I have one dino vert that I didn't find myself, but all those ammonites etc....)

So after reading and rereading some other posts I had an idea this morning (uncommon this early without caffeine! ). Why dont we take some of our fossil "seconds," that fit in a small flate rate box, and auction them off to benefit the forum? However many people can contribute to the auction this way while keeping their individual cost down. As you two have said not everyones seconds are seconds to someone else. Myself, along with alot of others, probably will not get to make trips to far outside their state. This would give someone a great chance to expand their local collection, to one that contains examples from across the country and maybe further, for little money. I mainly find brachs, corals, and crinoid segments here, so I would be happy to bid $50 for a collection of seconds from other time periods and other locations. I figure have the donation window open for a month then lock that thread. Then simply auction the contents of that thread off. What do you guys think?

[donsam]

We put items, around our pond to that we can see them but not worry if they don't hold up. Others that are better but not in our collection are also in the yard but in more protected area's.

[Bev]

So after reading and rereading some other posts I had an idea this morning (uncommon this early without caffeine! ). Why dont we take some of our fossil "seconds," that fit in a small flate rate box, and auction them off to benefit the forum? However many people can contribute to the auction this way while keeping their individual cost down. As you two have said not everyones seconds are seconds to someone else. Myself, along with alot of others, probably will not get to make trips to far outside their state. This would give someone a great chance to expand their local collection, to one that contains examples from across the country and maybe further, for little money. I mainly find brachs, corals, and crinoid segments here, so I would be happy to bid $50 for a collection of seconds from other time periods and other locations. I figure have the donation window open for a month then lock that thread. Then simply auction the contents of that thread off. What do you guys think?

I could be wrong, but it seems to me that TFF has had auctions to help pay for the server, etc. before. I think various people put pictures of the fossils they were offering on the site and would also ship them out of their own pocket. I haven't seen an auction like that for a while though, or I missed it!

If you scroll down in "forums" you will see one that says, "Auctions to Benefit TFF" pretty neat looking at those donations! There hasn't been one for a while though.

Bev

Edited August 9, 2013 by Bev

[Ridgehiker]

I was just out in the garden. A couple more.

Planter I made...Carboniferous rugosa corals

Inukshuk made of fossiliferous rock....on ground around it are Eskimo artifacts (scrapers). An inukshuk is a stone structure made in the Canadian Arctic used like a marker for info, direction, etc.